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Worst US Airstrike To Date Has Killed 85 Civilians.

According to a Turkey based monitoring group known as the Syrian Institute for Justice, US air strikes killed at least 85 people on the 19th of July, making it the deadliest bombing by the US coalition in terms of civilian casualties since the campaign against the Islamic State began.

The bombings took place on a cluster of buildings in the village of Tokhar, near the town Manbij. The town has been the centre of a push by the coalition forces for nearly 2 months, as the frontline of the fighting shifted some 200 people sought shelter in the villages cluster of buildings.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the pilots mistakenly targeted the civilians after confusing them for IS fighters.

Local activist groups and the Islamic State itself have claimed that the number killed in the strike has reached 160.

The US military has released a statement confirming that airstrikes took place in the region, though it claims they were on Islamic State positions. A US spokesperson confirmed that the military is aware of the reports that civilians were killed and is investigating.